Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Legendary Indie Rock trio BETTY, Alyson Palmer (vocals, bass, guitar), Elizabeth Ziff (vocals, guitar, electronic programming) and her sister, Amy Ziff (vocals and cello), use beguiling melodies, compelling lyrics and signature harmonies to create energetic live shows that mix music, performance art, politics and comedy.

BETTY sings of joy, love, longing, sex, food, heartbreak, and the universal hilarity of human existence. More than a band, BETTY uses music to channel their passion for representation, fairness and equality. From the beginning, they’ve blended their voices for causes they fight for, their talents in collaboration with other artists of every medium, and their time in support of women and girls, worldwide.

In addition to creating, performing and recording together as a group of independent artists since 1986, BETTY travels the world as Arts Envoys for the US Department of State. To further their humanitarian outreach and cultural diplomacy, Gloria Steinem advised them to form a non-profit, which they did in 2014. The BETTY Effect’s mission is using music and performance techniques to help others communicate and connect for personal power, social progress and peace, especially women and girls and LGBTQIA communities.

BETTY has been featured on national and international radio, television – including their iconic theme song for the L Word – and in films, commercials, jingles, recordings, streaming projects and concert venues across five continents. They have contributed as guest artists to dozens of recordings and compilation albums, and their soundscapes can be heard in art installations, like Darren Waterston “Filthy Lucre” at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA), The Smithsonian Institute and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Their Off-Broadway musical, BETTY RULES, was another show in a glittering string of hits directed by Michael Greif (Days of Wine and Roses, Hell’s Kitchen, Dear Evan Hanson, Next to Normal, RENT.)

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WADE McCOLLUM (Actor)

Broadway: Wicked (Witch’s Father, Wizard/Dr. Dillamond cover) London’s West End: World Premiere of It Happened in Key West (Carl) Broadway Tours: Lincoln Center Theatre’s My Fair Lady (Karpathy/Higgins cover), Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (Tick/Mitzi), Jersey Boys (Norm). Off-Broadway: Make Me Gorgeous, (Kate/Kenneth Marlowe), Triassic Parq (Velociraptor of Faith), Secondary Dominance (The Muse), and McCollum’s Lortel Nominated and Norton Award-winning performance as Ernest in Ernest Shackleton Loves Me. World Premieres: Water For Elephants, Alliance Theatre (Wade); Michael Weller’s A Welcome Guest, CATF (Shimeus); Rob Askins’ The Carpenter, Alley Theatre (Gene); Fly By Night, TheatreWorks Palo Alto (The Narrator). Select Theatre: I Am My Own Wife, PCS (Charlotte/Others); A Lie Of The Mind, PCPA (Jake); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Willamette Rep (Puck); Batboy the Musical, PCS (Batboy); The Rocky Horror Show, Triangle Productions (Frank-N-Furter); The Santaland Diaries, Syracuse Stage (Crumpet); Cabaret, Dallas Theatre Center (Emcee) – Dallas/Fort Worth Theatre Critics Award; Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Triangle Productions and L.A.’s Celebration Theatre (Hedwig) – Drammy, Ovation, Los Angeles Critics Circle, and Garland Awards. Select TV and film: “FBI: MW,” “Madame Secretary,” “The Knick,” “Nightcap,” “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” Options, “Prodigal Son,” Delicate Instruments, “Submissions Only,” and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me on broadwayhd.com. www.wadesong.com

Rick Elice ( Book Writer)

On Broadway: Jersey Boys (Best Musical, 2006 Tony Award, 2007 Grammy Award and 2009 Olivier Award); The Addams Family; Peter and the Starcatcher (winner of five 2012 Tony Awards);and The Cher Show (winner of two 2019 Tony Awards). In the pipeline: The Princess Bride and Smash, co-written with Bob Martin; Silver Linings Playbook, a musical adaptation of the popular film; The Marvels, a musical adaptation of the popular novel; and Treasure, an original musical written with 2021 Ed Kleban Award-winner Benjamin Scheuer. From 1982-1999, as creative director at Serino Coyne Inc, Rick created and produced ad campaigns for more than 300 Broadway shows, from A Chorus Line to The Lion King. From 1999-2009, he served as creative consultant for The Walt Disney Studio. Charter member, American Repertory Theatre. Trustee, The Actors’ Fund. BA, Cornell University; MFA, Yale Drama School; Teaching Fellow, Harvard University. Heartfelt thanks to those he’s been lucky enough to know, whose work makes him grateful for the day he was born: Sondheim, Stoppard, Bennett, Prince, Fosse, Robbins, Nichols, Tune, Nunn, Timbers, McAnuff, Laurents, Lippa, Stone, Taymor, Papp, Schumacher, Schneider, Costello, Coyne, Brickman, and eternally, Roger Rees. Hey Rog, look who’s running away with the circus!

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Elisabeth Seldes Annacone is a screenwriter, producer and educator with over three decades experience in film & TV. Her career started working with Oliver Stone on WALL STREET, TALK RADIO, and BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY.

Elisabeth then served as VP for Francis Ford Coppola, during DRACULA, SECRET GARDEN, and BUDDY. As a Sr. VP at MGM, Elisabeth had a helping hand in films like GET SHORTY, MULHOLLAND FALLS, TWO DAYS IN THE VALLY. After getting her MFA from UCLA in screenwriting, Elisabeth’s first feature, THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL was released by HBO and stars Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates Pierce Brosnan, Jesse Williams and Lily Rabe. It is currently a New York Times critics’ pick. Her pilot, WEEKENDS, is at UTV with Debra Chase producing.

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Calista can be seen starring in Ryan Murphy’s series FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans. The second installment of the Feud anthology is based on Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer and focuses on the story of how Truman Capote befriended society women Barbara "Babe" Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, and Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill and then betrayed these women for a story. Calista stars as Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister and wife of a Polish prince, who developed a strong kinship with Capote thanks in part to her poor relationship with Kennedy. The series also stars Tom Hollander as Capote, Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Diane Lane and Molly Ringwald.

Flockhart made her TV debut portraying the title role in FOX’s widely popular and award-winning series “Ally McBeal,” created by David E. Kelley. She also starred in ABC’s critically acclaimed TV drama, “Brothers & Sisters,” a family soap revolving around the Walker family and their lives in Los Angeles. Additional TV credits include “Full Circle,” “Supergirl,” Lisa Kudrow’s improvisational comedy series on Showtime “Web Therapy,” “Facetiming with Mommy,” and the DreamWorks’ TV Series, “The Penguins of Madagascar.”

Flockhart returned to her theatre roots as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf for the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Harris in The Glass Menagerie, for which she received the Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Best New Talent Award. New York theater credits include Neil LaBute’s Bash: Latter Day Plays; The Three Sisters; Warren Leight’s The Loop, which landed her the role of Gene Hackman’s daughter in Mike Nichols’ “The Birdcage;” Sophistry; Sons and Fathers; Wrong Turn at Lungfish; All for One and Caryll Churchill’s Mad Forest.

Flockhart was “Juliet” in Romeo and Juliet at The Hartford Stage; “Cordelia” in King Lear at The Actors Theater in Louisville; “Irina” in The Three Sisters at the Goodman Theater in Chicago; and “Emily” in Our Town directed by the legendary Jose Quintero.

Flockhart’s film credits include the independent thriller Fragile; Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her with Glenn Close and Cameron Diaz; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, co-starring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett; Drunks; The Birdcage, which received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble; and Telling Lies in America co-starring Kevin Bacon and Brad Renfro.

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Calista can be seen starring in Ryan Murphy’s series FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans. The second installment of the Feud anthology is based on Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer and focuses on the story of how Truman Capote befriended society women Barbara "Babe" Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, and Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill and then betrayed these women for a story. Calista stars as Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister and wife of a Polish prince, who developed a strong kinship with Capote thanks in part to her poor relationship with Kennedy. The series also stars Tom Hollander as Capote, Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Diane Lane and Molly Ringwald.

Flockhart made her TV debut portraying the title role in FOX’s widely popular and award-winning series “Ally McBeal,” created by David E. Kelley. She also starred in ABC’s critically acclaimed TV drama, “Brothers & Sisters,” a family soap revolving around the Walker family and their lives in Los Angeles. Additional TV credits include “Full Circle,” “Supergirl,” Lisa Kudrow’s improvisational comedy series on Showtime “Web Therapy,” “Facetiming with Mommy,” and the DreamWorks’ TV Series, “The Penguins of Madagascar.”

Flockhart returned to her theatre roots as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf for the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Harris in The Glass Menagerie, for which she received the Theatre World Award and the Clarence Derwent Best New Talent Award. New York theater credits include Neil LaBute’s Bash: Latter Day Plays; The Three Sisters; Warren Leight’s The Loop, which landed her the role of Gene Hackman’s daughter in Mike Nichols’ “The Birdcage;” Sophistry; Sons and Fathers; Wrong Turn at Lungfish; All for One and Caryll Churchill’s Mad Forest.

Flockhart was “Juliet” in Romeo and Juliet at The Hartford Stage; “Cordelia” in King Lear at The Actors Theater in Louisville; “Irina” in The Three Sisters at the Goodman Theater in Chicago; and “Emily” in Our Town directed by the legendary Jose Quintero.

Flockhart’s film credits include the independent thriller Fragile; Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her with Glenn Close and Cameron Diaz; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, co-starring Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett; Drunks; The Birdcage, which received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble; and Telling Lies in America co-starring Kevin Bacon and Brad Renfro.

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Dorian Harewood

Broadway: The Mighty Gents, Streamers, Don' f Call Back, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Jesus Christ Superstar. National Tour: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Madame Lily, Miss Moffat. Regional: Purley (Kennedy Center). Film: Gothika, Levity, Pacific Heights, Full Metal Jacket, The Falcon and the Snowman, Against All Odds. TV: "Big Sky, " "Bel-Air," "9-1-1," "Criminal Minds," "Private Practice," " 7th Heaven," "The Practice," "12 Angry Men," "PlI Fly Away," "The Jesse Owens Story," "Roots: The Next Generations." Awards: NAACP Image Awards for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for "I* Il Fly Away" and Best Actor in a Television Mini-Series for "The Jesse Owens Story;* Theatre World Award for Best New Actor for Don't Call Back.

Maryann Plunkett

Originated the role of Older Allie at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Fall 2022. Other Broadway includes: Agnes of God, Sunday in the Park with George, Me and My Girl (Tony Award®), The Crucible, St. Joan, A Man for All Seasons, The Seagull. Off-Broadway: Deep Blue Sound, The Sean O' Casey Dublin Trilogy at Irish Rep, The Lucky Ones, Aristocrats, Richard Nelson 's 12-play Rhinebeck Panorama (seen over a span of 11 years, onstage in NYC, on tour around the world, and live on Zoom during the pandemic). Films: Showing Up, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Little Women, MAD, Blue Valentine, The Family Fang, The Rhinebeck Panorama. TV: recurring roles on both "Manifest" and "Dr. Death" ; others include "New Amsterdam, " "The Knick," "Chicago Med," "Law and Order" franchise, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Plunkett is a founding member of Portland Stage Company and is a coach and mentor. She has performed in Shakespeare, Chekhov, and as narrator with the Britten Sinfonia.

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SAMANTHA PAULY : Grammy nominee, Drama Desk winner. Broadway: Original Katherine Howard in SIX. West End: Eva Peron in Jamie Lloyd’s critically acclaimed Evita. Regional: SIX, Honeymoon In Vegas, Elf, Hairspray, Godspell, and more. Represented by Stewart Talent, Lohne/Graham Management, Gersh Agency, Imprint PR. @sampauly 

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Kecia Lewis is celebrating 40 triumphant years as a dynamic storyteller on stage and screen in the entertainment industry. Lewis' rich career of portraying formidable women has come full circle with her critically acclaimed, Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle nominated, and Lucille Lortel Award winning performance of Miss Liza Jane in Alicia Keys' Broadway hit musical Hell's Kitchen. Entertainment Weekly proclaims "Lewis is commanding...her voice is a weapon, and she knows just when to fire." Kecia's Broadway journey began with her debut at 18 years old in the original company of Dreamgirls. In addition to originating on Broadway iconic roles in Once On This Island, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Leap of Faith, Kecia has graced the Broadway stage in The Gospel at Colonus (with Morgan Freeman), Big River, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (standby for Nell Carter) and Children of a Lesser God. Off Broadway she has starred in the title role of Mother Courage (CSC), The Skin of Our Teeth (TFNA - Obie Award Winner), Dessa Rose (LCT - Drama Desk nom.), and Marie and Rosetta (ATC - Lortel & Drama League Nom, Obie Award Winner). Kecia's work on the reboot of MAD ABOUT YOU was loved by fans and critics alike. Other selected TV guest and recurring roles include "And Just Like That" (Max), "With Love" (Amazon), "The Passage (Fox), The Blacklist (NBC), Law and Order SVU (NBC) and “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” (Hulu). As a vocalist Kecia has performed in Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Russia. Kecia can also be seen in Evan Parter’s feature “The Independent” alongside Brian Cox, Jodie Turner-Smith and John Cena which is now streaming on Peacock. 

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Eden Espinosa - After developing Lempicka at The Williamstown Theatre Festival and The Jolla Playhouse, Eden is thrilled to return to Broadway and originate her second titular role. Broadway: Wicked (Elphaba), Rent (Maureen), Brooklyn the Musical (Broadway). Tour: Falsettos (Trina, National Tour). Off-Broadway: Gardens of Anuncia (Mami, Lincoln Center), Rain (The Old Globe), In The Heights (Kennedy Center), Lizzie (Emma, Signature), and Merrily We Roll Along (Mary, Huntington). Eden's original albums are available on all streaming platforms. @edenespinosa.

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Ben Shenkman recently completed his seventh season of BILLIONS and recurred on the final season of THE GOOD FIGHT, Peacock's THE CALLING, and Robert & Michelle King's Spectrum limited series THE BITE.

He had regular roles on Shondaland's ABC series FOR THE PEOPLE and five seasons of ROYAL PAINS, recurred on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and was featured in the acclaimed HBO limited series THE NIGHT OF and ANGELS IN AMERICA (Emmy and Golden Globe noms.) Movie credits include THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, BLUE VALENTINE, THEN SHE FOUND ME and PI.

On Broadway he appeared in Larry David's FISH IN THE DARK, SIGHT UNSEEN and PROOF (Tony nom.)

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